Tickets for Spoonfest (£85) go on sale at 11am on Saturday 28th April 2018.
Tickets for the pre-festival courses (£275) go on sale one hour later at 12pm (midday – UK time, BST).

Hopefully this page will answer all your most frequently asked questions – we’ll continue to update this as we get nearer to the festival so please check here before firing off emails to the organisers. You can also check the Spoonfest Facebook group. Thanks muchly.

About Spoonfest

What’s the Spoonfest program / schedule?

For a general flavour of what goes on please see the What’s on page. For a few more details and times read on…

Thursday arrive any time after 5.30pm (no access before) set up camp, no carving on Thursday please. Food will be available and the bar open around 6.30pm

7.30pm grand opening in the main barn, we split the billet, introduce our various teachers run through some health and safety stuff. Followed by music and beer round the fire.

Workshops are booked at 9.30am each morning. Friday the workshops will tend to be more beginner’s workshops on axe and knife technique. Saturday and Sunday will be more intermediate and advanced workshops on design, decoration or fine axe control.

There will be free demonstrations and talks running throughout and the main focus of the weekend is free sharing of skills, if it is your first time you will be amazed at how friendly it is, we are all here to share and learn together.

We’ll finish Spoonfest on Sunday with a giant Spoon club ending at 16:30 with everyone off the field by 18:00.

There is no camping on the field on Sunday night so if you are not traveling home immediately you need to book in to a campsite in the village.

How do I buy tickets?

The tickets page on this website will be available from 11:00am UK time on Saturday 28th April 2018.

Spoonfest tickets will cost £85 for adults and £25 for under 18 year olds. Under 12s are free. Camping on site is incuded in the ticket price. If you want to bring a car or campervan on to the festival site you’ll also need to buy a vehicle pass.

You pay for tickets online via PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account to do this, you can just use your credit or debit card on the secure PayPal page like any other online card payment.

We do not provide any service to help you resell your ticket. You can resell the ticket privately, the Spoonfest Facebook group is a good place to do this.

You must please advise us via email that your ticket was sold on so we can maintain accurate attendee lists. We need to know the original order number and the name and email address of the person who bought it from you.

To contact us email: spoonfestlimited@gmail.com

Do I need a PayPal account to pay?

No you don’t need to already have a PayPal account you can just enter your credit or debit card details on the secue PayPal payment screen like any other online payment checkout.

Where else is there to stay if I don’t want to camp on site?

Free camping on the Spoonfest site is included in the ticket price but if you want to stay elsewhere Edale is in the heart of the Peak District tourist area so there are B&B’s, holiday cottages and a youth hostel within walking distance for those that wish.

Can under 18s and children attend?

Yes we have specific (cheaper) tickets for under 18s and free tickets for younger children.

Please be aware that under 18 year olds must have an adult responsible for their safety at all times whilst carving. 15s and over can attend any workshop as long as their responsible adult does as well. Under 15s can only attend special workshops for their age group, at which the accompanying adult will learn techniques to support the childs learning.

What’s the evening entertainment?

We encourage folk to bring acoustic instruments, songs, poems or whatever to keep us amused round the campfire. The music has been quite special most evenings and the atmosphere is warm and encouraging, so please feel able to join in.

Carving stops in the late afternoon – we’ll make this perfectly clear. The bar opens in the early evening and the camp fires and BBQs, pizza oven etc are fired up. You can eat and drink and chat and sing.

Will there be a Spoonshop this year?

Of course there’s a Spoonshop! there are special new Spoonfest badges instead of T-shirts and there will be the chance to buy some of the nicest spoons in the world!

If you’d like to sell your spoons they must have a label on each one with your name and the retail price. Spoonshop takes just 10% commission.

Please note there is no cashpoint. There isn’t one in the village, it’s quite a drive away to the nearest one. We can’t take card payment..

What’s the spoon gallery?

The spoon gallery is a wonderful cornucopia of hand carved wooden spoons.

Please bring a few of your spoons to show in the instant gallery, we love to see a wide range of spoons from folks of all levels and from around the world.

Take your spoons over to the gallery where Nigel who curates the gallery for us will look after them. The gallery is a great place to see wonderful spoons to read all those hard to get woodworking books or just chill out with a cup of tea or coffee (all free).

Are there there tools for sale?

Tools for sale this year Matthew of Woodland Craft Supplies is bringing his tool stall and of course Wood Tools axes and hook knives will be on sale, so there will be plenty of sharps to buy.

How can I pay for things at Spoonfest?

Please note there is no cashpoint – so bring cash with you. There isn’t one in the village, it’s quite a drive away to the nearest one. Sorry but we can’t take card payment and there is very little reliable mobile signal.

You’ll need money for food if you’re not self catering, drinks likewise. Workshops cost £10 each, you’ll also need cash for buying spoons from the spoonshop and tools if you’re seduced by any of the offerings.

Is there plenty of wood to carve?

Of course, we have plenty, mostly collected by the wonderful John Mullaney, lots of birch, aspen, cherry and rowan to mention but a few.

Do I need to bring tools?

There are some tools to use and to try out and tools to buy but do bring your own tools too.

We advise folk to mark any tools so you can identify them if they get mixed up or lost.

About the campsite and festival venue

How far is it into Edale from the Spoonfest campsite?

It’s a few minutes walk, depending how fast you walk or course, 400m along a footpath which can be muddy after rain across two fields.

In the village there are two pubs, two cafes and a small shop.

Are dogs allowed?

NO – it’s on a working sheep farm.

What about cars and campervans?

It’s a big field so there’s space for lots of cars and campervans on the site. Please buy a vehicle pass if you intend to bring your car or campervan on site.

As we have plenty of space you’ll be able to park next to your camp spot.

If you don’t have a vehicle pass there is a pay and display car park near the village hall a few hundred meters from the site.

Although there’s lots of room we do encourage people to car share or even better travel by train or cycle. If you can offer or fancy sharing a lift post on the Spoonfest Facebook group.

Can cars leave the field during the festival?

No, we want to minimise vehicle movement on site to reduce risk of injury. So once you’re in you’ll have to stay put, barring emergencies of course.

What’s the arrangements for toilets and showers?

There will be porta-loos on site and access to cold water, there are a limited number of showers available to us but we anticipate long queues for these.

What’s the arrangements for food on site?

Like last year we’ll have a caterer staying on site throughout the event. There will be breakfast lunch and evening meals including good veggie options all priced reasonably.

We are keen to avoid landfill rubbish so please bring your own plate, bowl, mug and obviously spoon. There will be disposable stuff available but we will encourage the caterer to charge a draconian amount for it especially for disposable spoons.

We also hope to have the pizza oven running again and there will be BBQs running in the campfire area so you can bring your own to cook. If you fancy calling at a local butchers on the way I highly recommend Watson’s farm shop on the left just after you turn up the Edale road in Hope http://www.watsonsfarmshop.co.uk/ There will be kettles over the fire for self service tea and coffee.

How about camp fires?

BBQs and campfires are not allowed in the campsite area, we do have big communal campfires which keeps the evening socialising away from folk who want an early night.

We encourage folk to bring acoustic instruments, poems or whatever to keep us amused round the campfire.

Is there a bar?

During the evening after carving is finished for the day there is a bar serving local ale and not so local cider and bottled beers for charity, last year we raised £2000 for Practical Action thanks to David and his volunteer bar staff, and the team working the Pizza oven.

Do mobile phones work?

The only phone mast in the village is EE and coverage from that is patchy, 100m from the campsite toward the village you generally get a signal.

There’s a public box in the village. There’s wifi available at the Rambler Inn.

Keeping safe

How do I stay safe with all the sharp tools about?

Edge tools are dangerous if used carelessly or incorrectly. If you have not done much carving before then attend one or more of the beginners workshops on Friday of Spoonfest. This will introduce you to safe ways to use the tools.

Please be aware that under 18 year olds must have an adult responsible for their safety at all times whilst carving. 15s and over can attend any workshop as long as their responsible adult does as well. Under 15s can only attend special workshops for their age group, at which the accompanying adult will learn techniques to support the childs learning.

Use safe knife cuts and axe holds.

Maintain a safe distance – be aware of others around you.

Don’t walk around with tools unsheathed.

Store tools safely when not in use.

Always carve when fully alert and focussed on the job.

Do not carve after any alcohol.

Take breaks often – walk around and stretch.

In the evenings we plan to down tools at 7pm and put tools safely away before the bar opens.

First aiders?

We have a number of designated first aiders but if you are a qualified first aider and are happy to treat anyone that needs help please let us know. We will ask on Thursday evening and give you red armbands so you can be easily identified when needed.